Container and closure



Oct. 11, 1949. w, KR EGER I 2,484,039

CONTAINER AND CLOSURE Filed June 6, 1945 FRANK W. KRUEGER Patentcd Oct. 11, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT. orr cs CDNTAINEB AND CLOSURE m w. m San Jose, can, assignor to Food Machinery and Chemical Corporation's corporation of Delaware Application June 6, 1945, Serial No. 597,863 6 Claims. (01. 215-38) The present invention relates to a container and closure for the same for hermetically paokefficiency which may be manufactured at low cost and advantageously used in commercial packing practice. 4

Another object is to provide a container and closure therefor which permit considerable variation in the form and size of the container and function efficiently to establish and maintain a secure hermetic seal.

Another object is to provide a container and closure therefor wherein upon application of the closure to the container the latter functions as a reforming die to which the closure is conformed into sealing engagement therewith.

Another objectis to provide a combination container and closure structure wherein upon application of the closure to the container '9. mechanical clamping action is produced in the closure for maintaining a tight sealing engagement thereof with the container and for following up thermo-plastic flow of the sealing compound during subsequent heat treatment of the container to sterilize the contents thereof.

Another object is to provide a flexible closure having a small amount of sealing medium wherein upon application of the closure to the container the spring action of the closure rather than the resiliency of the sealing medium provides the necessary pressure to establish and maintain a hermetic seal.

' Fig. I is a view of the container and closure of the present invention partially in side elevation and partially in section illustrating the closure in applied position, certain parts beingbroken away. a

Fig. 2 is a plan view bf a portion of Fig. 1, a part of the closure being broken away.

Fig. 3 is an-enlarged section .of a portion of the container and closure withthe closure loosely resting on the container .prior to application thereto.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but showing the closure applied to the container.

Referring now to the drawings, A indicates the closure or cap of the present invention which may be made from any suitable material. For example, I have found that standard 95 lbs. tin plate is a satisfactory material for the caps and they may be manufactured in the conventional manner by a simple stamping operation which performs the necessary blanking, drawing and forming steps,- and then subsequently completed in a curling and necking-in machine which performs the neckingin operation upon the skirt of the cap and curls Another object is to provide a closure which the invention will become apparent from'the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

' tends downwardly and inwardly and terminates The closure or cap A, 3, comprises a top panel I having a flat circular top or center portion 2, an annular sealing portion 3, and shoulder 4. Depending from the periphery of the shoulder 4 of the top panel I is an annular skirt 5. The center portion 2 and shoulder 4 are slightly depressed with respect to the annular sealing portion 3 as shown at 6 and 6 respectively, so that an annular groove 1 is formed in the under side of the cap for the reception of sealing compound which is applied thereto in the usualmanner well known in the art to form an annular sealing rin 8.

The upper portion 9 of the skirt 5 (Fig. 3) extends downwardly in a straight line at right angles to the annular ledge or shoulder 4 while the lower skirt portion, it is necked-in, i. e., ex-

in an annular out-turned rigid bead H which is necked-in relative to the necked-in skirt portion I0 and positioned'vertically below the shoulder 6 of the cap.

The container B of the present invention used in connection with the closure or cap A .de scribed hereinabove is preferably made from glass but, if desired, may be made from metal,

plastic composition or any other suitable ma.-

en ement therewith. Since the terial. The container 3, which has only been partially illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. comprises a non-yielding body portion "of any desired configuration most suitable forgthe product to be Packed therein and an annular neck portion or mouth rim l6, commonly referred to in the art as the finish." The neck portion II which forms the open mouth of the container or Jar is provided at its top face with an outwardly declined sealing surface ll adapted to cooperate with the sealing ring or compound 3 .of the cap A in a manner more specifically explained hereinafter.

Extending from the exterior periphery 20 of the neck portion l6 annular sealing surf-ace II are a plurality of lugs or projections 2| which are spaced from eachother at equal distances and are disposed in a common horizontal plane (Figs. 1 and 2). Preferably twelve of such lugs which form integral parts of the container are employed. It is to be understood, however, that the number of lugs may be increased or reduced as desired except that the number .must be such as to enable deformation of the bead of the cap to polygonal form as hereinafter described.

Each of the lugs 2| is preferably of oblong configuration in horizontal direction and includes an outwardly declined upper surface 22 joined with an inwardly declined lower surface 23 by means'of a rounded surface '24. The peak or ridge 25 of the curved surface 24 ,of each lug extends in a horizontal direction ;in an arc about the center of the container for a finite distance as shown in Fig. 2 and slopes gradually inwardly in opposite directions as shown at 26 and 21 merging into the periphery 20' of the neck portion It at 23 and 23, respectively.

It should further be noted that the cap A is so dimensioned that the annular groove I thereof is of such diameter and widtlfthat upon application of the cap to. the container the upper end of the neck thereof may freely enter the annular groove 1 and the sealing surface l3 may be brought into sealing contactwith the sealing compound 8 of the cap. The interior diameter of the necked-in skirt-portion ll as well as the interior diameter of the annular bead H are larger than the exterior diameter of the neck l6 of the container but smaller than the diameter of the periphery defined by the ridges 25 of the lugs, i. e., smaller than the distance between diametrically opposite lugs 2 l measured from peak to peak thereof.

The ledge or shoulder 4 of the cap is of larger diameter than the neck [I of the container so that it completely overhangs the same. The height of the skirt and the disposition of the necked-in skirt portion in and necked-in bead H are such that when the cap has'been applied to the container, 1. e., is in sealing engagement therewith (Fig. 4), the necked-inbead ll bears against the inwardly declined surface 23 of the lugs, but the necked-in portion It as well as the straight skirt portion 3 remain but of contact with the lugs.

In applying the cap to the container the cap A is first loosely placed upon the container IS with the bead resting upon the upper declined surface 22 of the lugs 2| (Fig.3). In this position the cap is spaced from the annular sealing surface ll of the container and is out of sealing interior diameter of the annular bead II is larger than the diameter of the exterior periphery of the neck ofthe containerand since the lugs 2| are spaced pulled-in below the ridges side and inside of the container is maintained through the open spaces 3| between the lugs 2|, neck It and bead II when the cap is placed upon the container in this manner.

Consequently if the cap and container are used in connection with a closing machine of the vapor sealing or vacuum type .the steaming, vacuumizing or gassing operations prior or incident to the application of the cap to the container may be advantageously carried out with the cap in this position.

The cap is applied into sealing engagement with the container by straight downward pressure exerted upon the annular ledge or shoulder 4 whereby the cap is driven upon the neck It of the container and the sealing ring or compound 8 is pressed into sealing engagement with the sealing surface I 8 (Fig. 4)

During the application of the cap to the container, the annular bead rides downwardly along the outwardly declined surfaces 22 and the curved surfaces 24 and is forced over the ridges 25 of the lugs 2| whereby the bead is stretched and drawn in at the that the'bead is permanently deformed into substantially polygonal shape (Figs. 2 and 4).

The tensioning and slight stretching of the annular bead as it is driven home upon the neck of the container past the ridges 25 of the lugs causes drawing-in of the head portion 33intermediate adjacent lugs whereby a mechanical clamping action is set up in the bead I l and the same is 25 of the lugs 2| and forced under continuous pressure against the inwardly declined surfaces 23 of the lugs whereby the cap is firmly held to the container. It is to be noted however that the skirt portions 9 and I0 do not contact the lugs 2| but are sufficiently spaced therefrom to permit free inward and downward movement of the bead along the surface 23 of the lugs after the cap is applied.

Furthermore, by reason of the inward declination of the surface 23 of the lugs, the spacing of the skirt portions 9 and Ill from the lugs and the spring tension set up in the bead by the drawnin bead portions 33 a continuous inward pull on the head is obtained tending to pull the bead |I downwardly and inwardly along the surfaces 23 whereby a continuous downward pressure of the cap is efiected so that the sealing compound 8 is continuously held in tight sealing engagement with the sealing surface I 8 of the container and the cap automatically follows up any thermoplastic flow of the compound under the sealing pressure of the cap during heat treatment of the container to sterilize the contents thereof. Consequently the seal is maintained irrespective of the softening of the sealing compound under heat so that after the heat treatment when the compound has set, the cap is still perfectly sealed to the container and the thermo-plastic flow of the compound has been utilized to mold the compound lnto perfect fit with the sealing surface I8 irrespective of any irregularities thereof.

In addition to the horizontal clamping action of the bead ll above described, there is also a vertical clamping or spring action set up in the cap between the sealing portion 3 and the bead II which supplements the horizontal clamping action and assists in forcing the sealing ring or compound 8 into tight sealing engagement with the sealing surface I of the container.

This vertical clamping or spring action is set up in the cap during its application by the spaces between the lugs so aesaoso which serves as a fulcrum, until the sealing compound 8 of the cap is brought down upon and conformed under pressure to the sealing surface 18 of the container which is used as a male die mated to obtain an individually tailored fit of each cap to its container irrespective of wavy irregularities or variations in the diameter of the sealing surface l8 thereof. Due to this tilting of the sealing portion 3 and a slight outward bending of the skirt 8 which is maintainedafter the sealing surface it to assure highest sealing efficiency. I

when the cap is in its applied position (Fig. 4) i. e., in sealing engagement with the container,

the sealing compound is compressed into annular wedge-shaped form. The apex portion of the wedge-shaped sealing ring is located at the inner periphery of the sealing surface is and the base portion is disposed at the outer periphery of the .sealing surfaceit. This ofiers the advantage that when a high vacuum is created in the container, which tends to pull the sealing compound inwardly, the sealing action of the sealing ring to which the cap and sealing compound 8 are ing pressures, respectively since the vertical as well as horizontal clamping action of the cap,

. which contributes mainly to the sealing efllciency of the cap, is primarily dependent upon the gauge and the inherent resiliency of the material employed, although it is also dependent upon the height of the ridges of the lugs and the diameter of the cap.

Ifdesired the cap may be made from plastic material and the same manufacturing procedure may be followed as set forth herein or the cap may be formed therefrom by molding or extrusion.

While I have described a particular embodi- -ment of the present invention, it will be understood, however, that various changes and modifications may be made in the details thereof without departing from the spirit and scope of is increased as the thick' portion of the sealing container.

The sealing medium used in connection with the container and closure of the present invention may be a thermo-plastic or any other type of sealing compound or if desired elastic rubber sealing rings may be employed. It should be noted however that elasticity of the sealing medium is not required since the spring and follow-up action of the cap rather than the elasticity of the sealing medium is utilized to maintain a perfect hermetic seal.

The cap may be readily removed from the cont'ainer by inserting a coin, or any other flat rigid object, between the head it and shoulder 38 of the container and by giving the coin a twisting movement whereby the cap is pried loose from the container. The spring action of the annular bead i i permits an easy removal of the cap without destructive deformation thereof and enables manual reapplication of cap. In this manner the cap may be applied and removed numerous times without substantial reduction of the locking action thereof although the number of times this may be done without loss of sealing emciency will, of course. depend somewhat upon the inherent the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. In combination a container having a nonyielding wall provided with a top face and a plurality -of-spaced non-yielding projections on its periphery below said face each provided. with an inwardly declined lower surface, and a cap comprising a top provided with a sealing ring for sealing engagement with the top face of the container and a depending skirtterminating in a rigid head of a diameter'slightly greater than the outer periphery of said wall of the container but less than a circle defined by the apexes of said projections, said bead being disposed from said sealing ring a distance slightly less than the spacing of the top face of the container from the point of convergence of the lower surfaces of the projections with the outer periphery 'of said well of the container, the lower end of said skirt being necked-in above said bead for maintaining the skirt in spaced relation with respect to the apexes of said projections when the bead engages the lower surfaces of the projections, whereby upon application of the cap to the container said head is drawn in under tension against the declined lower surfaces of said projections after passing the apexes of said projections to exert a continuous downward pull on the cap forcing the sealing ring into sealing contact with the top face of the container and maintaining said sealing contact irrespective of the elasticity of the sealing ring.

2. In combination a container having a nonyielding wall provided with a sealing surface at its top face adjacent its mouth and a plurality of spaced projections on its periphery below said sealing surface each of said projections being provided with an inwardly declined lower surface, and a cap comprising a top provided with a sealing ring of thermo-plastic material for sealing engagement with the sealing surface of the container, and a skirt depending from said top and provided, at a point less than the distance between the top face of said wall and the juncture of said declined lower surfaces of said pro- "jections and the periphery of said wall, with an resiliency of the material from which the cap is made.

As pointed out in the above, standard lbs. tin plate is very satisfactory and has the neces sary resiliency. It is to beunderstood, however, that other materials such as terne plate orblack iron plate may be employed. Furthermore,

lighter or heavier gauge plate, material may be,

used for lower or higher vacuum seals and cookannular necked-in rigid bead adapted to be sprung, upon passage thereof over the apexes of said projections, to engage the declined lower surfaces of said projection a substantial distance a tinuously sustain a downward pull on the cap for maintaining said sealing contact irrespective of the elasticity of the sealing ring and for automatically following up thermo-plastic flow of the sealing ring upon subsequent heat treatment of the container.

3. In combination a container having a nonyielding wall provided with a top surface adjacent its mouth and a plurality of spaced projections on its periphery-below said space each provided with an inwardly declined lower surface, and a cap comprising a top having an annular free to ride downward the declined surfaces of the lugs to thereby exert a continuous downward pull on the cap to maintain the sealing rin thereof in sealing engagement with the sealing surface on the top face of the container.

5. In combination a container having a nonyielding wall provided with a sealing surface on its top face and a plurality of spaced declined lower surfaced lugs on its periphery below said sealing surface, and a cap for hermetically sealing the container comprising a top having an annular. groove provided with a thermo-plastic sealing compound, an annular shoulder exterior groove provided with a sealing ring for sealing engagement with the top face of the container,

an annular shoulder at the periphery of said top exterior of said groove and completely overhanging the top surface of the container when the cap is applied thereto, and a skirt depending from said shoulder and provided with a rigid bead having a diameter greater than that of said wall but lesser than that of a circle defined by the apexes of said projections and spaced from said sealing ring a distance less than the spacing of the top face of the container from the juncture of the lower surfaces of said projections with said wall, the lower end of said skirt above said bead being necked-in to maintain the skirt in spaced relation tohthe apexes of said projections when the bead is drawn under tension against the lower surfaces of said projections upon application of the cap with its sealing ring in sealing contact with the top face of the container by downward pressure upon said shoulder, whereby a spring action is set up between said shoulder and skirt cooperating with the inward tension of the bead against the lower surfaces of the projections to continuously maintain said sealing contact irrespective of the elasticity of the sealing ring after the downward pressure upon said shoulder is released.

4. In combination a container having a nonyielding wall provided with a sealing surface on its top face and a plurality of spaced lugs on its periphery below the top face, each of said lugs having an outer ridge and an inwardly declined surface therebeneath, and a cap for hermetically sealing the container, said cap comprising a top provided with a sealing ring, a depending skirt having an upper portion disposed at right angles necked-in portion provided with an outwardly turned necked-in rigid bead of an interior diameter smaller than a circle defined by the outer ridges of said lugs but larger than the exterior diameter of the top face of the container, the height of said upper and lower skirt portions being of lesser dimensions than the distance from said top face to the point of juncture of the lower face of the lugs with the wall of the container, the angular disposition of said upper and lower skirt portions relative to each other and the disposition of the necked-in bead relative to the lower skirt portion being such that upon application of the cap to the container the head is stretched over the ridges of the lugs, deformed into polygonal shape, and drawn in under tension against the inwardly declined surfaces of the lugs with the upper and the necked-in portion of the skirt spaced from the lugs, and the bead spaced from said wall of thecontainer, whereby the head is of-said groove and overhanging the sealing sur-' face of the container free and unsupported when the cap ,is applied thereto, a skirt depending from the outer periphery of the shoulder and including an upper straight portion disposed at right angles to said shoulder at a diameter greater than the outer periphery of said wall of the container but within a circle defined by the tips of said lugs, said skirt having a lower neckedin portion terminating in a rigid bead of greater diameter than the outer periphery of said wall and necked-in relative to said lower portion of said skirt, said straight and necked-in skirt portions and said necked-in bead being so disposed relative to each other and said shoulder that upon application of the closure by downward pressure upon the shoulder thereof, the bead is stretched over and locked beneath the lugs with said skirt portions spaced from the lugs, whereby inward tension is set up in the head to draw the same inwardly about the declined lower surfaces of said lugs and a vertical spring tension is set up between said shoulder and skirt to effect a downward thrust of said shoulder toward the top face of said wall for maintaining the sealing compound of the cap in tight sealing engagement with the sealing surface on the top face of the container after the pressure is removed from the shoulder of the cap and for following up thermo-plastic flow of the sealing compound during subsequent heat treatment of the container.

6. In combination a container having an outwardly declined straight sealing surface adjacent its mouth and a plurality of spaced projections on its periphery below said sealing surface each provided with an inwardly declined lower surface, and a cap comprising a top having a fiat sealing portion provided with a sealing ring for sealing engagement with the declined sealing surface of the container, a shoulder at the periphery of said top completely overhanging the sealing surface of the container when the cap is applied thereto, and a skirt depending from said shoulder and terminating in. a necked-in bead of a diameter between that of circles defined by the tip and the base of said projections and spaced from said shoulder a distance slightly less than the spacing of said declined straight sealing surface from the point of juncture of said declined lower surfaces of the projections with the periphery of the container adjacent its mouth, the lower portion of said skirt above said bead being necked-in to maintain the skirt in spaced relation with respect to said projections when the cap is applied to the container, whereby upon application of the cap to the closure by pressure exerted upon the overhanging shoulder to stretch the bead over the tips of said projection said bead 9 the outwardly declined sealing surface of the container, the flat sealing portion .of the cap is tilted outwardly to conform the sealing ring to the outwardly declined straight surface of the container and a spring tension is set up in the cap between the sealing portion, shoulder, and skirt thereof in addition to the tension of the head for maintaining the seal between the contalner and cap irrespective of the elasticity of the sealing ring.

FRANK W. KRUEGER.

REFERENCES CITED Number 10 UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Hammer Mar. 16, 1926 Podel May 17, 1932 Southwick, Jr. 'Feb. 7, 1933 Punte Dec. 26, 1933 Coyle June 11, 1935 Townsend Nov. 23, 1937 Townsend Nov. 23, 1937 Townsend July 5, 1938 Magnesen Jan. 18, 1944 

